The Best & Brightest: The ACE Award winners of 2016

The stars of the air cargo world shined brightly in Berlin last month, as the Air Cargo Excellence (ACE) Awards Gala was held at the InterContinental Berlin Hotel, in conjunction with IATA’s World Cargo Symposium. Sponsored by Air Cargo World magazine, the ACE Awards recognize outstanding achievement among the world’s top cargo carriers and airports.

Created in 2005, the awards are determined from the results of the exclusive, anonymous Air Cargo Excellence Survey, which evaluates airlines and airports and ranks each with indexed scores, based on several performance factors.

This year, a total of 17 awards, divided by region and tonnage handled, were handed out to exemplary air carriers and airports. The top three performers in the air carriers division were awarded Diamond, Platinum and Gold status, while top airports in each category were awarded Diamond status.

JJ Hornblass, publisher of Air Cargo World, said “I couldn’t be prouder to stand before you as the presenter. The ACE Awards are no less than the industry’s definitive mark of distinction. We are thrilled to honor hard work here this evening.”

The Air Cargo Excellence Awards are based on a survey that is carried out and published annually by Air Cargo World. The survey measures airlines and airports on specific criteria and subsequently ranks them to identify above or below average performance, with an index score of 100 being the baseline. There are two surveys – one for airlines, and one for airports – based on their performance during the previous 12 months.

For 2016, the survey was enhanced and the categories streamlined to provide a more accurate picture of each finalist’s performance. This year, airlines were scored by freight forwarders on customer service, performance and value. Airports, meanwhile, were judged by forwarders, cargo agents and third-party logistics providers on performance, value and facilities (See more about the survey methodology here).

Congratulations were also given to all carriers and airports that received an above-average ACE index score. Those air carriers (four) and airports (30) that scored above 100 points but less than the Diamond, Platinum or Gold winners, each received an ACE Certificate of Excellence.

While many familiar faces were present on March 14 at the Berlin awards gala, there were also several new names who took the stage for the first time at the ACE Awards.

To view the complete listings of participating Carriers, click here.

To view the compelte listings of participating Airports, click here.

For more details on the survey methodology, click here.